The Greater London Assembly has backed a motion by Green Party Mayoral Candidate, Sian Berry, calling on the government to provide support and funding for a trial of Universal Basic Income (UBI). The Greater London Assembly joins 27 other local authorities across the UK in calling for trials to be implemented
Sian Berry and fellow Green Party Assembly Member, Caroline Russell, have long campaigned for City Hall to back a UBI scheme in London to reduce poverty by guaranteeing that everyone, regardless of employment status, would receive a regular fixed payment without means-testing. It forms a key plank in her plan for a new economy for London.
Berry explained how a UBI could have helped with the pandemic. “If we had a universal basic income in place at the beginning of this crisis, people running things would have been able to concentrate their efforts on the testing, because everybody would have had that guaranteed security.”
The Green Party has been among the strongest supporters of a UBI for London, with councils in Islington and Richmond having already backed motions proposed by Green Councillors to host trials of UBI.